Judaism: A Culture and a People
Judaism is not just a religion
 Judaism is a religion,
but it is also a culture
and a people.
A culture and a people
 Judaism does not
represent any single
race, belief, or
viewpoint, let alone
values and politics.
The Torah
 Torah means
“teaching,”
“instruction”, or “law”
and is commonly
known as the Law of
Moses.
Maps of Israel Over the Years
 The map of Israel
changed many times
since Biblical Times.
Most people around Abraham
were polytheists
 Monotheism was a
radical break with the
common philosophical
understanding of the
Divine at the time.
The Temple in Jerusalem
 Worship was centered
on the temple in
Jerusalem.
The Western (wailing) Wall
 Though the temple
was rebuilt, the
religion became more
and more what it
ultimately would
become, a religion of
synagogues, where
worship consisted of
study of Scriptures
without sacrifices.
The Bible is divided into three
sections
 The Torah is the first
section, and includes
the first 5 books of the
Bible. The Prophets is
the second section,
and the Writings is the
third.
The Messiah
 An important idea of
Biblical Judaism is the
concept of the
Messiah.
Kabbala: Jewish Mysticism
 Kabbala is based on
finding deeper
meanings in the words
and letters of the
Torah that point to
metaphysical realities.
The Kabbalistic Tree of Life
 Kabbala: a path of
meditation
Hasidism
 Hasidism was a
devotional movement
that started in Eastern
Europe through the
teachings of the Ba’al
Shem Tov (“Master of
the Good Name”).
Jewish-Danish Children
Smuggled into Sweden
 The Holocaust has had
a profound effect on
Christian-Jewish
relations and dialogue.
Orthodox Judaism
 Orthodox Judaism
teaches full following
of the Law (Torah),
and is traditional in
theology, forms of
festival and worship.
Reform Judaism
 Reform Judaism has
roots in the German
Enlightenment, and is
liberal in attitude, and
does not believe in
following the Law
legalistically.
Jewish Beliefs
 No dogma is as
significant to most
Jews as participation
in the Sabbath
worship, festivals,
customs, and
observances traditional
to the community.
Moses Maimonides, 1135-1204
 A conventional
touchstone for Jewish
belief delineation has
been 13 principles of
faith put down by the
great medieval thinker,
Moses Maimonides.
Abraham Joshua Heschel
 Abraham Joshua
Heschel (1907-1972),
celebrated the holiness
in all things and the
possibility of an
intense, passionate
relationship between
God and humans.
The Sabbath
 The Sabbath
commemorates the
Lord’s day of rest after
the work of creation,
and is intended for the
rest and refreshment
of both body and soul.
Rosh Hashana: Happy New Year
 Rosh Hashana is the
Jewish New Year and
is a celebration of the
creation of the world.
It is associated with
the “sweetness of
life”, symbolized by
honey and sweet
bread.
Passover
 Passover is a
celebration of freedom
recalling the Exodus,
parting of the Red Sea,
receiving of the law at
Mt. Sinai, and entry
into the Promised
Land.
Chanukah
 Chanukah
commemorates the
rededication of the
Temple in Jerusalem
in 165 B.C.E.
Bar Mitzvah: A Rite of Passage
 The term means son
(bar) of the
commandment
(mitzvah). For a girl,
the term would be
daughter (bat) of the
commandment
(mitzvah).
A Religion of Action
 Judaism is a religion
of action more than
beliefs.
Modern Jerusalem
 In modern Israel, we
see some negative
issues arising.
The Letter of the Law
 On an internal level,
the “dark side” of
Judaism has been in its
focus on the letter of
the Law rather than
the spirit of the Law.
Deborah, the Judge
 On one hand, Jewish
women have been
celebrated in texts and
traditions as
charismatic
luminaries, heroines,
intellectuals, devoted
wives and leaders.
Tradition
 It is the role of wife
and mother that takes
center stage for
women in traditional
Judaism; most
traditions regarding
women revolve around
her role in the home.
Jewish Wedding
 This attitude even
comes out in modern
weddings, where the
father “gives away”
his daughter to the
groom.
The Marriage Contract
 A woman could only
get a divorce if the
man agreed to give her
one. Pictured here is a
traditional marriage
contract, called a
Ketubah.
First Female Rabbi:
Sally Priesand
 Today there are
women ordained as
rabbis and cantors in
Reform, Conservative
and Reconstructionist
Judaism.
Shekhinah
 Shekhinah, which is
feminine, is the spirit
of God at the Sabbath,
also known as the
“Sabbath Bride.”
Center of Judaism
 For a long time,
Judaism was centered
on the temple in
Jerusalem in the land
of Israel.